PART 3

The Board of the Health Service Executive

11.— (1) The Executive is to have a Board consisting of—

(a) 11 members (including the chairperson and 10 ordinary members) appointed by the Minister in accordance with this section, and

(b) the person holding the position of chief executive officer who, by virtue of that position, is a member of the Board.

(2) Appointments to the Board under subsection (1)(a) or paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 2 are to be made from among persons who, in the Minister's opinion, have sufficient experience and expertise relating to matters connected with the Executive's functions to enable them to make a substantial contribution to the performance of those functions.

(3) A person is not eligible for appointment as a member of the Board or a committee of the Board, if the person is—

(a) a member of either House of the Oireachtas or of the European Parliament,

(b) regarded, pursuant to section 19 of the European Parliament Elections Act 1997 , as having been elected to the European Parliament to fill a vacancy, or

(c) a member of a local authority.

(4) The Minister shall, to the extent practicable, endeavour to ensure that there is an equitable balance between men and women in the composition of the Board.

(5) The Minister shall ensure that, as soon as practicable after a person is appointed to the Board under this section or paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 2, a notice to that effect that includes the person's name is published in Iris Oifigiúil.

(6) Schedule 2 applies in relation to the Board.

12.— (1) The Board is the governing body of the Executive with authority, in the name of the Executive, to perform the functions of the Executive.

(2) The Board may delegate to the chief executive officer any of the Executive's functions.

(3) If a function of the Executive is delegated to the chief executive officer under subsection (2), the delegation remains in force until the Board revokes the delegation.

(4) The Board shall inform the Minister of any matter that it considers requires the Minister's attention.

13.— (1) The Minister may at any time remove an appointed member from office if—

(a) in the Minister's opinion, the member has become incapable through ill-health of performing the functions of the office,

(b) in the Minister's opinion, the member has committed stated misbehaviour,

(c) the member's removal from office appears to the Minister to be necessary for the Board to perform its functions in an effective manner,

(d) the member has contravened section 25 (1) or 26 of this Act or an applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 , or

(e) in performing functions under this Act, the member has not been guided by a code of conduct that has been drawn up under section 10(3) of the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 and that relates to the appointed member.

(2) An appointed member ceases to hold office if the member—

(a) is adjudicated bankrupt,

(b) makes a composition or arrangement with creditors,

(c) is convicted of an indictable offence,

(d) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

(e) is the subject of an order under section 160 of the Companies Act 1990 ,

(f) is sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

(g) is removed by a competent authority for any reason (other than failure to pay a fee) from any register established for the purpose of registering members of a profession.

(3) A member who does not, for a consecutive period of 6 months, attend a meeting of the Board ceases at the end of that period to hold office unless the member demonstrates to the Minister's satisfaction that the failure to attend was due to illness.

(4) In this section “applicable provision of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 ”, in relation to an appointed member, means a provision of that Act that by virtue of a regulation under section 3 of that Act applies to that member.

14.— (1) The Minister may remove all the members of the Board from office if—

(a) the Board fails to achieve a quorum for 3 consecutive meetings,

(b) the Board does not comply with a judgment, order or decree of any court,

(c) the Board does not comply with a direction of the Minister or any other requirement imposed on it by or under any enactment including this Act, or

(d) the Minister is satisfied that the Board's functions are not being performed in an effective manner.

(2) The Minister may, if of the opinion that the Board's functions are not being performed in an effective manner, appoint a person to—

(a) conduct an independent review of any matter giving rise to that opinion, and

(b) submit a report to the Minister on the results of the review.

(3) The Board shall co-operate with any such review and give the person conducting it all reasonable assistance, including access to such premises, equipment and records as the person may require for the purposes of the review.

(4) The chief executive officer does not cease to hold that position solely because he or she ceases to be a member of the Board when the members are removed from office under this section.

(5) The removal of the members of the Board from office does not revoke or otherwise affect any delegation of the Executive's functions to the chief executive officer under section 12 (2).

15.— (1) The Board may establish committees to provide assistance and advice to it in relation to the performance of its functions and may determine the membership and terms of reference of each committee.

(2) The Board may appoint to a committee persons who are not members of the Board but have special knowledge and experience related to the purposes of the committee.

(3) The appointment of a person to a committee is subject to such terms and conditions as may be determined—

(a) under section 16 , to the extent that they relate to remuneration and allowances, and

(b) by the Board, in any other case.

(4) The Board shall specify in writing the purpose and terms of reference of each committee.

(5) The acts of a committee are subject to confirmation by the Board, unless the Board dispenses with the necessity for confirmation.

(6) The Board may regulate the procedure of a committee but, subject to any such regulation, a committee may regulate its own procedure.

(7) The Board may at any time dissolve a committee established under this section.

16.— (1) The remuneration and allowances for expenses, if any, determined in accordance with subsection (3) are payable by the Executive out of funds at its disposal to—

(a) the appointed members of the Board, and

(b) the members of a committee of the Board, other than the chief executive officer.

(2) The remuneration and allowances for expenses, if any, determined in accordance with subsection (3) are payable by the Minister out of money provided by the Oireachtas to a person appointed under section 14 (2) to conduct an independent review.

(3) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, determine the remuneration and expenses payable under this section.

(4) This section is not to be taken to limit—

(a) the power of the appointed members to determine in accordance with section 17 (5) the remuneration and allowances for expenses payable to the chief executive officer (including allowances relating to his or her functions as a member of the Board or a committee of the Board), or

(b) the chief executive officer's entitlement to be paid the remuneration and allowances so determined.